We just basically got an R-rated version of Home Alone thanks to Jack Quaid's new action movie Novocaine. The original 1990 Home Alone is a classic in many ways that still holds up to this day. One of the best elements has always been the finale where Kevin has to defend his house from the Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv. Thanks to the elaborate series of booby traps and obstacles cleverly placed around the McCallister residence, Home Alone's finale is one that's filled with a surprising amount of violence and pain, but it's all scaled down to a PG setting.

The PG version of Home Alone has always been enough for me. I'd never seriously considered what an R-rated version of the movie would be like, even though that idea has been dreamed about by others. There are fan edits and shorts imagining what the family-friendly Home Alone movies would be like with more blood and violence fit for an R-rating. Disney and 20th Century are never going to make an R-rated version of Home Alone, but there's now a new action movie that offers a glimpse at what it would be like.

Novocaine's Booby Trap House Briefly Turns The Movie Into An R-Rated Home Alone

Jack Quaid's Character Encounters Several Deadly Traps

Novocaine is a 2025 action movie starring Jack Quaid as a man who cannot feel pain, as he's diagnosed with a real disorder. It has an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes. As the movie unfolds, Nathan Caine goes to a dead robber's house to try and find his co-worker and love interest. What he doesn't know is the criminal booby-trapped his house before the bank heist. Nathan proceeds to be stabbed in the back with a mace, shot in the leg with an arrow, and strung up upside down by a rope all due to the traps in the house.

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Every Time Jack Quaid's Character Should've Died In Novocaine

Jack Quaid’s character in Novocaine might not be able to feel pain, but he can and nearly does die multiple times throughout the movie.

It's through this sequence that Novocaine essentially becomes an R-rated version of Home Alone. Jack Quaid's Nathan Caine takes the place of Harry and Marv as people breaking into someone's home and encountering several hidden traps. The biggest difference with Novocaine is that it doesn't need to downplay the violence and shy away from the bloody injuries these traps can provide. I couldn't help but think about it being an R-rated Home Alone as the sequence unfolded and more hidden traps were revealed. It helped make the sequence one of the best in Novocaine for me.

Novocaine Shows How Easily Harry & Marv Really Got It In Home Alone

It Could've Been A Lot Worse For The Wet Bandits

Joe Pesci holding Kevin McCallister's fingers as he hangs from the door in Home Alone

Harry and Marv received their fair share of injuries in Home Alone thanks to Kevin's traps. Harry had the top of his head lit on fire and burned his hand on the door knob, and Marv got a hot iron to the face and stepped on a nail. They both were hit in the face by swinging paint cans and fell to the ground after Kevin cut a rope to the treehouse. But ultimately, none of these traps drew blood (that we see) or had potentially deadly consequences. The same is not true for Novocaine and Jack Quaid's character.

It all makes Harry and Marv's injuries look a bit more mild

Nathan Caine very well could've died in Novocaine as a result of the traps he encounters. The mace may have killed him if it struck his chest or head instead of back. He would've died of natural causes even if he hadn't been saved from the rope. Furthermore, the arrow to the leg hindered his ability to walk. Nathan is even tortured after all this by the brother after getting caught. It all makes Harry and Marv's injuries look a bit more mild. If Kevin's traps were anything like what Nathan encountered in Novocaine, the Wet Bandits probably would've died.

  • Novocaine Official Poster

    Your Rating

    Novocaine
    Release Date
    March 14, 2025
    Runtime
    109 minutes
    Director
    Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
    Writers
    Lars Jacobson

    Novocaine follows the story of a successful dentist whose life spirals out of control after becoming entangled with a seductive patient. Facing unexpected challenges and criminal activity, he finds his personal and professional worlds colliding, leading to an urgent fight to preserve both his reputation and sanity.

  • Your Rating

    Home Alone
    PG
    Comedy
    Family
    Release Date
    November 16, 1990
    Runtime
    103 minutes
    Director
    Chris Columbus

    WHERE TO WATCH

    Streaming

    Home Alone tells the story of Kevin McAllister, an eight-year-old who is left behind in his Chicago home when his family flies to Paris for the holidays. Not only must Kevin keep himself safe while his mother flies back across the world, but he must protect his home from the Wet Bandits - serial burglars who are targeting the McAllister House. Kevin must use every trick in the book to keep the Wet Bandits from stealing Christmas before his mother returns.